English department adapts new textbooks

BY EMMA CHANG

STAFF WRITER

The English Department adopted a new brand of Advanced Placement (AP) English and Language Composition textbooks, kicking off the new year with a new english curriculum.

Though The Language and Composition (Second Edition) textbooks are still fairly new, AP English teachers Ember Arteaga, Lisa Leung and Christopher Valentine are working to implement this new resource into the Common Core standards.

English Department Chair Arteaga says the new books will provide students with references and universal definitions to vocabulary words and topics.

“It is a little early to tell, but we want the textbooks for the intention of a [better understanding] of concepts and key terms. I hope that it impacts the AP scores, primarily raising 1’s to 2’s and 2’s to 3’s,” Arteaga said.

Assistant Principal Samuel Sanford says that though there is no definite way to predict the book’s effect on students, he is looking forward to its success.

“We wanted to make sure that this book really aligns with the expectations [for] students and what is on the AP exam. The [books] are just as important as our skilled teachers and students pushing themselves to [work] hard,” Sanford said.

Arteaga also says the book’s influence on the subject will grow as classrooms become more familiar with the text, which accompanies StudySync.

“There are still certain things like state standards that we still need to teach from StudySync, but I think teachers will be using this book as their primary resource as they see more success with it,” Arteaga said.

Junior Brianna Co says that despite her unfamiliarity with the book’s content, she already began noticing a difference in her studies.

“Even though the textbooks are still new, I can already tell that they are going to be really resourceful during exams and a great [help] with studying,” Co said.

Welcome to Vol. 50!

Paw Prints Weekly is the student-run newspaper of Glen A. Wilson High School and is one of the few high school newspapers that publishes weekly in Southern California. This year, we are expanding our horizons towards online publishing and taking new approaches in journalism.